Embodiments of this disclosure relate generally to semiconductor fabrication, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor wafer.
In the course of integrated circuit (IC) evolution, the density of IC devices has increased as the feature sizes decrease. Though this has resulted in many performance and cost benefits, it has also increased the complexity of fabrication of the ICs. For example, contamination control has become more critical as the small feature size allows not only for smaller particles to be detrimental to the performance of the IC, but for the features to become more fragile with the decreasing size and pattern complexity. Contamination control is further challenged by the increases in semiconductor wafer diameter.
There is a trade-off that must be considered between particle removal efficiency and sustaining a pattern damage free process. Conventionally, particle removal needed to be sacrificed in order to maintain the pattern fidelity. However, this can lead to quality, reliability, and yield concerns.